


My run and only

by persephx



Series: One small run for a man [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: ((( this can be read separately to the other works ))), (like wake up people), (that really needs to be a tag), (that too), - also the title might not make too much sense but it's just for the running pun -, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Established Relationship, Human Disaster Clint Barton, M/M, One Shot, book nerd bucky barnes, bookstagram, bookstagrammer bucky, i still don't know how to tag, idk - Freeform, three shot?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:33:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24839992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephx/pseuds/persephx
Summary: Clint and Bucky have been seeing each other for a few weeks now, and it’s time for them to meet the other’s friends.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Series: One small run for a man [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1489325
Kudos: 30





	My run and only

Everything is good. Everything is going well. That’s not really something that happens in Clint’s life usually, but he’ll gladly admit that it’s a nice change. Even Nat likes Bucky, which is, again, something that doesn’t happen often.

They’re at Bucky’s apartment, and he’s taking cute pictures of this books. It’s all more complicated than Clint first thought, but he has to admit that the results are great.

“And you’ve read all these books?” he asks, looking at the big shelf in the living room. It seems like it holds more books that Clint has ever even read in his life.

“Well, not all of them. My TBR is pretty small, though,” is the answer the comes from a crouched Bucky that is trying to get all his bookish trinkets to look good around the hardcover that is the subject of the picture.

Clint frowns. “TBR? What is that?”

Bucky looks up then and smiles. “To Be Read. The books that I haven’t gotten to read yet. I keep my list to a maximum of fifteen books.”

“And that’s supposed to be small?”

Bucky shrugs and goes back to what he was doing. “Some people have lists of a hundred books. Yeah, fifteen is not that much. Right now, I’m at eight though.”

Because that made it so much better, Clint thinks, laughing to himself.

Clint has been at Bucky’s apartment for about three hours, and it feels like ten minutes. He’s never quite felt like this with anyone. Well, with anyone he was romantically involved with. He feels like he can spend all his time with Bucky and it still won’t be enough. However, they both have lives, so he’s going to have to leave soon. He has to get to Nat’s house to help her build a shelf. Most likely it will be him building the shelf and her eating popcorn and criticizing everything the does, but not actually moving to correct him.

“Hey, I need to go,” he tells the other man.

Bucky looks up from his phone, where he was checking the pictures, and pouts. It’s cute how much his hard face softens. It’s also ridiculous, but neither of them care. Clint walks up to him and hugs him. “I’m sorry, I told Nat that I’d help her with her bookshelf.”

“I know,” Bucky answers.

“And I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I know.”

They stay like that for a moment and Clint can’t help but think that he’s back into his sixteen-year-old self, hugging his first boyfriend and feeling like they would last forever. He’s matured now, and he knows that few things are forever. He’s only been with Bucky for a few weeks and that’s not enough to swear eternal love to each other, but it damn feels like it is.

“Do you think…?” Bucky doesn’t finish his question. He shakes his head a bit and squeezes Clint harder.

Clint frowns and looks at his boyfriend. “No. What? Tell me.”

It seems like a rush of shyness has come over Bucky. He doesn’t look at Clint in the eyes, but he does answer. “I was thinking that maybe we could go to a bar soon. With Natasha and Steve. So they can, you know, meet.” It almost sounded more like a question than a statement, but Clint understood why.

“Sure. I think it’s a great idea, baby,” he told him. “They’ll like each other.”

“’M not sure if that’s a good thing.”

Clint laughed and there was that.

When he told Natasha about it, she regarded him for a few seconds and then she nodded. “I’ll be there.” She stayed in silence for a moment, and then “You’re going to break the board.” And then, they were back to building the shelf.

A week later, Clint and Nat are walking into a bar where Bucky and Steve are waiting for them. Bucky chose the bar, because it was one he felt very comfortable at, and Clint agreed because they had damn good tequila. He didn’t know whether he would need it, but it was a comfort to how at least that was an option.

“There they are,” Clint says, pointing in the other men’s direction.

Bucky is wearing a dark t-shirt, which he probably paired up with black jeans, and his hair is in a messy bun. Steve, the man sitting next to him, is wearing a blue shirt and kakis. They don’t look like the kind of people who hang out together, but Clint knows that they are like brothers. He’s seen Steve in pictures, so he knows what to expect, but the man’s bulkiness surprises him. This guy could crumble his head with just one hand. He hopes Bucky was being sincere when he told him Steve was harmless.

They walk up to them and Clint doesn’t really know how to act, so he puts his hand in Bucky’s head and pats it twice. He cringes instantly. “Hi.”

Bucky is looking at him like he’s grown a second head, which makes sense after the most awkward greeting in the world. “Hey. Are you okay?” the man asks, and Clint can only nod. Bucky grabs his hand and pulls him near. He kisses him right in the mouth, which would have been how Clint would have greeted him, but they had company, and he didn’t know if that would be okay, and he really didn’t want to mess this up.

“This is Steve,” Bucky says when he pulls away.

The man is smiling, but he doesn’t seem to be mocking Clint or anything. He even waves. Clint waves back awkwardly. He’s not the pinnacle of extroversion, but he surely is better than this, usually.

“Hi,” Steve says.

Clint clears his throat. “Hi.” Then he’s brought back to reality when he feels Nat pinch his arm. “Right. Of course. This is Nat. Natasha. Natasha Romanov.”

She, being a lot better at dealing with nerves than Clint, smiles at both Steve and Bucky. “Nice to meet you both.” Then, she sits, and drags Clint with her. “How much alcohol will be enough to lose him up?” she asks, looking at Clint. “I think at least a gallon.”

“You are very funny.”

But Steve and Bucky _are_ laughing, so maybe she is.

The evening goes better than Clint had feared it would go, and only when he and Bucky are walking back to his apartment, does he realize that it was stupid to think it would go badly. Steve is a great guy, Clint has learnt, funny in the kind of way you wouldn’t expect someone who looks that much like a jacked up puppy to be. And he and Nat seemed to hit it off. Not in _that_ way, apparently Steve has a girlfriend, and, even though she hasn’t said anything, Clint thinks Nat might have someone too. But they seemed to like each other, they’d even exchanged numbers with the promise of sending the other material to make fun of their respective best friend.

“That went well,” says Bucky, pulling Clint back into reality.

He looked at his boyfriend, who was looking at the floor. “It went really well.” He grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry I was weird.”

“Nah, I’m used to it.” Bucky looked at him and smiled. Then he turned his eyes back to the floor.

“That’s mean, I’m not weird.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.”

And so, they walked hand in hand.


End file.
